Clara Marie Brown

Clara Marie Brown, 94, passed away on November 24, 2025, at her home in Santa Barbara, California.

Born on August 14, 1931, in New City, New York, Clara lived a long and meaningful life marked by kindness, hard work, and quiet strength.

After graduating from Pearl River High School, Clara attended secretarial school and worked at Lederle Laboratories in New York. She married her high-school classmate George H. Brown in 1953. The couple eventually moved to Pennsylvania, where they started a business and raised a family.

In 1981, Clara and George retired and relocated to Santa Barbara. They enjoyed an active social life with new friends in the Goleta Valley and regularly attended plays and concerts. The couple traveled extensively, enjoying trips to Europe, Egypt, China, Australia, New Zealand, and many U.S. destinations.

For more than 30 years, Clara volunteered at Goleta Valley Community Hospital, where she edited the hospital auxiliary newsletter, fundraised through bake sales, and assisted the nurses in the Med/Surg department. Her commitment to service reflected her generous spirit and deep care for others.

A passionate gardener, Clara found joy in flowers of every color, shape, and form. She loved growing orchids in her backyard greenhouse and weeding her garden. She enjoyed watching the hummingbirds and goldfinches, seeing the sun set and the moon rise, baking for her family and friends, and chatting with her wonderful neighbors on Camino Floral.

Those who knew Clara remember her as a warm-hearted and positive presence—someone who always took a genuine interest in others much more than herself. Her legacy lives on through the lives she touched with her grace and dignity. Clara is survived by her three daughters: Carol Jeanne Brown, Susan Leigh Weissbarth, and Ann Marie Brown; sons-in-law Tom Weissbarth and Lee Oppert; and grandson Eric Weissbarth.